Dogs, like people, should have a regular schedule of teeth cleaning in order to prevent periodontitis, particular in the later years of the dog's life. The problem of tooth decay and gum irritation is even more severe with dogs than humans, since the canine saliva is more viscous and more likely to build up deposits of calculus on the dog's teeth.
The common treatment to remove deposits from dog's teeth is scraping by a veterinary. This technique has many disadvantages. Employing a veterinary is prohibitively expensive on a frequent basis. The scraping results in roughened surfaces, which accelerates the buildup of calculus. And, in the period between treatment the breath of the dog rapidly becomes and remains unpleasant.
There is now available a toothpaste devised for dogs. See co-pending application Ser. No. 18,312, filed Apr. 8, 1974. In order to ensure that the brushing is efficient and that all the teeth are subjected to brushing and debris removal, it is necessary to provide a brush which is capable of reaching all the dog's teeth and able to provide a mechanical brushing of the entire tooth surface.
A dog's jaws and teeth are different from those of a human. Refer to FIG. A of the accompanying drawings for purposes of illustration. The dog's teeth are primarily for tearing. The canine arch is trapezoidal in shape unlike the human arch which is more paraboloidal. As viewed from the side, the canine arch has a reversed curve, rising and dropping from the first to the fourth bicuspid and then swinging upwards to the third molar. Quite often in mature dogs one or two of the molars, top and bottom, are missing so the teeth are spaced apart, leaving gaps between the teeth for accumulation of debris. In contrast to human teeth, the canine teeth have secodontal crowns, with sharp tips as sharp ridges, which function as tearing surfaces.
The toothbrush employed for humans is adapted to the conformation of the human mouth. The different geometry, spacing and formation of canine teeth make the ordinary toothbrush inadequate to provide the mechanical brushing of the canine tooth surfaces and the removal of debris in the spaces between the teeth. There is, therefore, a need for a simple and effective toothbrush adapted especially to the conformation of the canine jaw and spatial relationship of the teeth.